Tennant Creek

In 1872 a station was established 11km north of town to service the overland telegraph and in the 1930s gold was discovered in the area and the town developed around this time.

Although there are only 3500 people in Tennant Creek, it is the Northern Territory’s fifth-largest town. It is 500km north of Alice Springs and 1000km south of Darwin.

If you’re travelling on the Stuart Highway between Alice Springs and Darwin you may want to break your journey at this small mining town, even though there isn’t really a lot to see here. It’s the only town of any size for at least 500km in any direction and it has ATMs, grocery stores and a hospital.